Man Denied Medicaid for Breast Cancer Treatment

by Liz Langley

Apparently everyone knows this is not fair, but he was denied anyway.

A man in South Carolina is being denied Medicaid coverage for breast cancer because of his gender.

Yes, men get it, too—about one percent of all cases. Raymond Johnson, 26, found a lump about a month ago. At first he thought it was a cyst but the pain became intense enough for a trip to the emergency room, according to a video news report from ABC4.com in Charlotte, as told in a story on Nerve.com. He discovered it was cancer and is now on his second round of chemotherapy, which costs an astonishing $10,000 a pop. Johnson is uninsured and though South Carolina does have a program that provides Medicaid for breast cancer patients, Johnson’s application was turned down because the program is for women only.

A couple of organizations are stepping in to help Raymond reapply for aid. The news station says that the “Department of Health and Human Services has repeatedly asked the federal government for help” in changing the discriminatory policy.